Solomon: Porter satisfied with the Astros after interview process

Astros management began its search for a new manager with a list of nearly 50 candidates.

It took awhile, almost six weeks, and the last man standing was Bo Porter, a confident and intense former player who has been the third-base coach for the Washington Nationals for the last two years.

Before talking to the Astros, Porter interviewed for managerial jobs five times. He was more than prepared for Houston’s evaluation process. Not surprisingly, he was impressive.

A “natural born leader” was the way general manager Jeff Luhnow described him.

But Porter wasn’t the only one being evaluated. Astros owner Jim Crane, team president and CEO George Postolos and Luhnow were being looked at as well.

“Not only were they interviewing me, but I was interviewing them,” Porter said Thursday after a luncheon at Minute Maid Park, where he was formally introduced to local media. “I would say we all passed the test throughout the conversation, because when we left the room, we came to the conclusion that not only was it a good fit for the Astros, but it was also a good fit for me.”

Porter used the phrase “all in,” as in this is where he wants to be for the long haul. Since he has lived here for 16 years and his wife Stacey is a Houston native, Houston is already home. This is where he wants to be.

He likes it that he can drop his son off at school on his way to work and that work is just a short drive across town.

Opportunity knocks
There are only 30 MLB squads, so it isn’t often one turns down such an opportunity. Still, Porter certainly could have taken his chances and waited for the next opportunity.

Davey Johnson will retire from the Nationals in a year or two, opening a spot with a club that was where the Astros are a few years ago but is seemingly light years ahead of them now.

First-time managers aren’t often chosen for such positions. Typically, they land somewhere closer to the bottom. Porter isn’t merely close to the bottom with the Astros.

It is no secret the Astros are the worst team in baseball, having totaled 213 losses the past two seasons, 18 more than any other franchise. Their move to the American League West next season doesn’t make life any easier. The worst team in their new division — Seattle — has a 31-game edge on the Astros in the last two years.

Building a winning franchise from that depth, particularly considering the Astros’ farm system regularly has been rated among the majors’ weakest in recent years, is going to be a challenge.

Everyone on same page
But Porter, who has spent countless hours in his office since arriving in Houston on Sunday, two days after the Nationals were eliminated from the National League playoffs, said he has little doubt the Astros are headed in the right direction.

“If given the opportunity to manage in Major League Baseball, one of the things I always said was I wanted to do it with smart people,” he said. “Right away when I met Jim, when I met George and I met Jeff and the entire decision-making team, they were very smart people.

“It gives me comfort that we have a plan in place and our visions are completely aligned, from Jim Crane to Jeff Luhnow to myself to the major league staff to the farm department. We’re all completely in line with each other as to where the organization is going.

“When you share the same vision with management, you know that great things can be accomplished.”

Luhnow was an excellent choice to refurbish a farm system that Drayton McLane let go to waste, and he started with a draft that received high marks from experts. He’ll eventually stock the big league club with big-time players.

That not many managers in Porter’s shoes — taking over a club that has lost more than 100 games in consecutive seasons — have lasted long enough to see a turnaround isn’t a particular concern of Porter’s.

Going will be slow
Failure isn’t part of his plan. It isn’t part of Crane and Luhnow’s plan, either.

But this plan, this trip to respectability, will take time. Porter had better be part of Crane and Luhnow’s long-term plan.

They hired a guy who knows baseball, a motivator who works well with young players, which will help in the short term, and who vows to get the most out of those in his charge, which will be an asset for all times.

As the Astros continue this massive rebuild, those charges will come and go. The wins, at least for the next couple of years, are likely to be fewer than the losses.

Crane and Co. have rid the team of almost everything associated with the recent regime, changing everything from the announcers to the underwear.